Illegal abortion “shield laws,” such as those that exist in New York, are an odd hope the Left has for regenerating social trust. The process is, of course, legally fraught, but it has equally strong cultural implications.

Social trust in the US has seen steady decline for decades, and with that, social time overall is down. We spend more time alone, know fewer of our neighbors, and generally mistrust strangers or acquaintances. The loop reinforces itself, fed lately by a hyper-political arena of wild norms and speech correctness alongside visions of poor immigration policy. Still, the pro-abortion side of things sees fit to base its rationales on what is left of “trust” and “safety.”